News Archive

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The OL Juggle
August 21 2002
By Bryan Hersh of 49ers Paradise
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The 49ers continued to juggle their offensive line this past Monday night. While Ben Lynch was at center for Jeremy Newberry, allowing Dave Fiore to move back to his guard spot, the 49ers also had rookie Eric Heitmann start the game for Ron Stone. It was the most significant play time for Heitmann this summer.

Heitmann did an adequate job in the starting position, but he certainly doesn’t look ready to be a starting lineman in the NFL. Not yet anyway. One of the more promising offensive lineman in the draft Heitmann confirmed the 49ers suspicions that depth along the offensive line was tragically thin. His performance was by no means terrible, but was certainly lacking, especially in the run game.

More changes are expected for this Saturday’s game against the Raiders. This time though, change should be for the better as starting center Jeremy Newberry is set to return from his calf injury. The 49ers are hopeful that Ron Stone will be back too, but at this point no decision has been made on his status.

When the offensive line does get re-assembled it should bring some good times for the 49ers. The left side if the line is a little light, but the right side is big enough to be dominant, it should translate into more time for Garcia and better holes for the running backs. They key of course, will be keeping the entire line healthy all season.